Position Spotlight: Team Lead, Central Ops (Admissions)

Eddie was born and raised in New Jersey. He graduated from Rutgers University in 2012, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in sociology. He has been with Contessa Health since the partnership with Mount Sinai launched in 2017. In his free time, he loves to travel, work out, and spend time with family and friends.  

What does a Team Lead do at Contessa? 

A team lead is responsible for managing the daily job requirements of our admission partners (APs). We coordinate schedules, update any market news, and implement set workflows in screening and admissions with the team. We also work with Comprehensive Care at Home leaders in specific markets to relay any information to our designating APs and to make sure things are running smoothly.   

Why did you choose a career in healthcare? Specifically, this career? 

I have always enjoyed helping others out, so when I heard about the AP position with Mount Sinai, I was intrigued. I thought “this program is cool,” and that it’s trying to take healthcare to the next level. I would have the opportunity to assist in making lives better with this innovative program. After being an AP myself for a few years with the Mount Sinai team, I was presented with the opportunity to take the Team Lead role, and the rest is history. 

How does the work you do at Contessa differ from other jobs? 

I’ve never had the opportunity to be involved in such a forward-thinking and next-generation program. It’s quite fulfilling to be part of this program and to help out people in need.  

What is the best part of your job? 

I love being able to teach and guide our APs on the role itself. Being an AP while with the NY market, I understand the ins and outs of an AP position. I know what they may be going through at certain times due to my experience. Early on in our program, APs were responsible for just screening the emergency department boards and finding eligible patients. We now have expanded that to include assisting the Recovery Care Coordinators in the early process of an admission. These tasks can include scheduling transportation, updating the patient profile, updating vendors and team members of the admission, etc. I’ve enjoyed expanding the role and implementing this across various markets.  

What’s the most challenging part of your job? 

I’d say my greatest challenge would be navigating a team virtually. Prior to covid, all I knew was an in-person team collaborating with co-workers every day. I currently communicate with my team daily (online), but I’m still getting used to the remote way of working together even though I’ve been doing so for the past 2+ years. 

What inspires you to come to work every day?  

The fact that we can be making a patient and their family happy. Some people are thrilled to get themselves or their loved one out of the hospital. I love being able to make their hospital admission better than what it was going to be. I enjoy aiding in the initial process of identifying those patients and helping them get set up with the services they need.